Tales of Fantasia: The Gryffon Order
by Rowena Bensel
Summary: The Land of Fantasia is home to many different creatures of fantasy. While most are peaceful, there are some that are simply pure evil. The Ra'zac are such monsters. Those of gryffon blood - born or given - were the best suited to fight them, and so the Gryffon Order was formed. Now five new recruits will enter this battle, unknowing of the trials they will face.
1. Kisses In The Glade

This is part of a multi-fandom fantasy series of ficlets I had written for Fictober. While I did not complete the challenge, I am keeping the prompt list to try and finish the storylines I established. This particular storyline is the only one that could technically be called "complete" so it is going up first. I will be updating it on Thursdays and Tuesdays, though it will not always be this particular story, as I will be dividing the different fandoms into their own stories. To read the others, look for the Fantasia series on my profile.

* * *

_For as long as anyone can remember, the land of Fantasia has been home to a multitude of fantastic creatures. The most numerous and, some would say, mundane species is that of the humans. And they are not so mundane as they may say, with mages being quite common among their people. Others who inhabit this world include elves, seraphim, demons, dragons, sirens, nymphs, raiju, arachne, oni, and so many more it would take near an hour to list them all. Each has their own customs and ways, some more aligned to the ambiguous classification of Light, some to the Dark, and many to the shades in between. _

_While villages and towns grow and shrink, and the exact borders of the various nations change over the years, six general regions of the continent have formed. In the northern mountains, the Demonic Kingdom resides, with its capital Kaon sitting at the base of the Unmaker's Spire. A kingdom consisting mostly of those considered Dark, it is ruled peacefully by the Demon King Megatron. Opposite him, in the southern mountains, the seraphim Optimus Prime rules over the Primeian Kingdom from Iacon and the mount of Primus's Rest, consisting of many creatures that are considered light. To the west, on the highest peaks that form that range, many winged creatures fall under the rule of the Dragon King, a position contested greatly in recent years. South of the Primeian Kingdom's mountains, a vast grassland that gives way to desert is home to the nomadic tribes of the Conclave, a mix of mostly elves clans, orc tribes, and others displaced from their northern homeland. And lastly, but in no way least, the breadbasket plains and forests of the land fall under the rule of many human and a few elven kingdoms and marches. _

_The human kingdoms of Fantasia are each a mix of traditions, customs and superstitions concerning their local creature neighbors. Those who live in the foothills and forests close to the mountain kingdoms welcome open trade with their neighbors, and cross-species marriages and half-blooded children are common. In the innermost and coastal cities and kingdoms however, creatures are often viewed with suspicion, and some have banned their presence all together except on diplomatic business. _

_But no matter their customs, one tradition is upheld by all kingdoms and institutes: the yearly Tribute Festival, where all cities, villages, and towns open their gates to the creatures and offer them gifts of crafts, foods and drinks. Many beliefs say it is to thank the creatures for their ancestors helping humanity fend off great evil long ago, Unicron or Abeloth, or the Forgotten Ones, depending on who you asked. Others simply say it is to try and promote unity among the many species of the land. _

_This collection of tales might not all start at a Tribute Festival, or even end at one, but the Festival always has a part to play, no matter how small._

* * *

"Leli! Are you here?"

Leliana smiled to herself up in her perch in on a branch that crossed right by the window of her treehouse. She would recognize that voice anywhere. She pushed herself to her feet and looked down, spying the brunette woman standing at the base of the tree. She was looking up and around, but Leliana was hidden well enough she didn't see her. Just perfect.

With the skill of long practice, Leliana moved silently in the branches of the tree, until she was just above and behind the woman in the pink dress. She counted to three, then jumped, her brown and lavender wings spreading behind her to slow her fall. She wrapped her arms and wings around the woman as she landed on her, startling a scream as they fell to the ground and rolled together down the small hill of the clearing. Grass and a few flowers were squashed, but the only effects to the two women when they finally stopped, a few feet away from the brook that babbled at the edge of the woods, Leliana hovering over the brunette, was breathlessness and a few grass stains on their dresses.

Leliana smiled down at the brunette. "Hello Analei."

Analei's face flushed bright red and she pushed the redhead off her, the siren rolling to the side and spreading her wings on the ground. "Why must you do that every time I show up?"

"Because you make such the cutest sounds when I surprise you." Leliana reached over to poke her, but Analei batted her hand aside.

"There are other ways you can get sounds out of me, you know."

"How forward of you, Analei," Leliana teased. "Shall we do it here, in the open?"

"Leli!" Analei swatted at the siren who just laughed. Once they calmed down, they lay on the grass a while longer, and Leliana found herself breathless in a different way. Her blue eyes were locked with Analei's pale green, and she felt she could stay like that forever.

But all too soon, Analei sat up and pushed herself to her feet. "I wanted to collect some angel's arbor, and I got a new shawl pattern I wanted to show you." She went back up the hill and collected the basket and bag she had set down before she'd called out, knowing Leliana would pounce her like she did.

When she came back the two sat on the bank of the brook, and Analei showed Leliana the new illustration of the pattern she was making - a forget-me-not pattern, what a surprise - then started gathering the white flowers and green stems of angel's arbor that grew there, speaking of the news from Kirkwall. Leliana in turn shared the news of the woods, which was not much aside from the rumor two elves had been found, lost and sick, near the gryffon den at Ostagar, but no one could confirm it. When the news ran out, Leliana went up to her treehouse and collected her lute and some refreshment, and once they had eaten, she started to play and sing. She did not sing at her full power, but even so, a few of the local creatures stopped and came closer to the clearing, a few of the braver or more entranced ones coming almost all the way up to them. The only one who wasn't so entranced was Analei, who simply smiled and occasionally hummed or sang along to the music.

Some say a siren's true mate was immune to their siren's song. This was not entirely true. Moreso, the innate part of the siren that just knew when they'd found their mate just could not bear to seduce and force them into a relationship. If a true mate was to be won, it had to be done honestly. Leliana had known Analei was hers after using her song to stop a barfight during the last Tribute Festival. Everyone in the bar, from the brawlers to the barmaid to the manager was entranced to near stupidity - all but Analei. Instead, the noble's daughter went around the room, separating the brawlers and healing their injuries with magic, before sending them on their way, through different doors, so they hopefully would all forget their grievances and seek drinks elsewhere. After being thanked profusely for being such a help, Leliana had asked how Analei had withstood her voice. Analei proceeded to show off her hair clip, a silver piece engraved with forget-me-nots that she said had powerful enchantments on it. A quick bribe of a sensor and a examination of the clip showed that, while indeed powerful, no spell on it would make her withstand a song as strong as she'd sung that night.

So Leliana kept returning to Kirkwall, despite the renown hatred of creatures its people held. Even Analei's great-uncle and grandfather were not fond of the magic Analei and all her siblings had in their veins, and might have sent them from the city if not for the fear of what their mother would do if it happened. First their meetings were simple, short conversations in the market, or on the way to the chantry. Then conversation turned to meals, which turned to evenings walks and day trips out of Kirkwall, to where they were now. Leliana had been waiting patiently for a time like this; she was not going to waste an opportunity.

"Leli?" Analei asked, and Leliana broke from her reverie. Analei had her head tilted and her lip stuck out in that adorable way she did when she was concerned about something. "Are you alright. You stopped playing."

Leliana looked down, and found, indeed, she was so lost in thought she actually stopped playing. That had never happened before.

"I'm alright," Leliana assured her. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking of what?" That little lip stuck out again, and Leliana wanted to find out what it tasted like, more than anything.

"I was thinking I might just kiss you."

Analei's eyes widened and her face flushed bright red again as she dropped the flowers in her hand, which fell over her lap. "W-What?"

"I said I might just kiss you." Leliana set her lute aside and leaned forward. "I've been thinking it for a while, but you're like a little bluebird, I didn't want to scare you away."

"You- you-" Analei took a deep breath. "You could never scare me away."

"Most humans are scared of sirens," Leliana pointed out, an echo of a long ago conversation.

"I'm not most people," Analei said, reaching out to take Leliana's hand. "This human happens to love a siren."

That was not on script, but Leliana just smiled. "Oh? What are they like?"

"Oh she's lovely. Red hair with a braid on the left side of her face. Blue eyes like the sky. Nightingale wings with lavender on the ends of her feathers. Has the loveliest singing voice." She smiled at Leliana. "She's a lot like you, actually."

"Well, then I have a secret to tell you." Leliana leaned in closer and Analei did the same, their faces hovering so close to each other they could feel the other's breath. "This siren happens to love a human too."

The tension snapped and Analei pressed forward, her lips meeting Leliana's. It was a mash of mouths at first, and Leliana laughed against them before tilting her head and taking control of the kiss. It was sweet and soft, and just expressed everything Leliana had been keeping bottled up for so long.

When they parted, they were both breathless for several moments, just resting their foreheads together and looking into the other's eyes. Analei finally broke the silence with a smile. "Was it as nice as you were hoping?"

"Very much so," Leliana said. "In fact, it's so nice, I would like to try it again."

"I wouldn't object to that." They both giggled, and then leaned in again, floating on the high of new love.


	2. Discovered

It was never a good thing to be called to Great-Uncle Aristide's office. At least, it never was when Rodrick was sent to collect you. It was a system, Rickon was sent if Great-Uncle had good news or was in a good mood, Rodrick if it was bad. The brothers were identical twins, so those outside the estate had no idea of this little cue, but the family and long term servants had learned the subtle differences between the pair.

So, when Rodrick entered the library and told Analei to follow, to say she was nervous was an understatement. Entering, she found not only Aristide, but her grandfather Fausten, standing by the fireplace while her uncle worked at the desk. This did not bode well, but she kept those thoughts to herself and off her face.

"You wished to see me, Uncle?"

Aristide looked up from his papers and nodded. He had the Amell's traditional blue eyes, a trait that had missed her, and while his hairline was receding, it still had more pepper than salt to it. Her own grandfather was similar, but the affair of Uncle Damion's near imprisonment and later claiming during the Tribute Festival had left his hair all salt.

"Yes," Aristide said, signing his signature on a document and setting his quill in it's holder. "Have a seat please, Analei."

Analei did, her nerves spiking higher. Politeness, another sign of trouble. She found herself reviewing her behavior over the last few weeks, trying to find any actions her uncle would not approve of.

Aristide's voice cut through her thoughts. "You have been taking several trips out of the city recently."

Her heart leapt into her throat, but she did her best to speak around it, willing her face to not pale. "I collect potion ingredients, you should know fresh ones are the best to have."

"Yet you spend little time making any potions, and I've spoken with a few of our potioneers, they say they've only rarely seen you delivering herbs for them."

Shite. How to get out of this? "I don't give them to the Amell potioneers, I pass them on to a few of the Lowtown sellers. They rarely have time to collect any for themselves, and can't afford to hire-"

Aristide slammed his hand onto the desk, making her jump and almost bite her tongue. "Cease your lying, Analei. I know the real reason for your visits, about that siren."

Analei drew in a harsh breath, and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Uncle."

"Are you truly?" Aristide stood and looked to the door. Analei fought the urge to see who he was looking at. "Send him in."

The door opened and she could hear a sharp inhale behind her. One she was very familiar with.

"Jakob, come here," Aristide said, and Analei's little brother walked up to the desk, his nerves as visible as the Amell crest on his jerkin. "Tell Analei about your venture out of the city yesterday."

Jakob took another deep breath and turned so he wasn't looking directly at either Aristide or Analei. "I was returning from a morning hunt with Mattias and Johann when I spotted Analei on her horse Ilya. I was curious as to what she was up to, so I sent Mattias and Johann on with the excuse of a stone in Donver's shoe, then rode after her. She rode into the woods for a ways, then tied Ilya to a tree branch and continued on foot with a basket. I followed and heard her call out a name, before a sky siren swooped down and knocked her to the ground. I was about to draw my bow and charge in to attack when I heard laughter instead of screams. I got closer and saw Analei laying on top of the siren, talking. I couldn't hear what was said, but I saw Analei and the siren kiss, several times, before Analei went to untie the laces of the siren's dress. I left then and rode home."

Aristide nodded. "Thank you, Jakob. You may leave now."

Jakob did, with a short bow to their uncle and without even looking at Analei. He felt guilty, she knew. He always avoided catching the gazes of any he felt he had done a disservice, even as minor as a careless comment shared in private. This certainly explained why he had also avoid her gaze the night before - she had assumed it was something much more minor and dismissed it.

"After Jakob told me what he'd seen, I sent Eddard to verify his claim," Aristide said. "He told me he saw you and the siren, bare as your namedays, in a clearing clearly inhabited by the creature. He kept watch until you prepared to leave, and reported everything to me upon his return." He leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk. "Does this sound accurate to you, Analei?"

She was found out. More so, Leliana was found out. Analei had to do damage control. "Uncle, I can explain-"

"No excuses!" Aristide sliced a hand through the air. "Do you know how many plans you have nearly disrupted? I had hoped this was simply an enchantment, but Lianne said the disenchantment potion she slipped in your tea had no effect."

Another puzzle piece slipped into place in her mind. Lianne had a hobby of tea making, and her siblings were the first test subjects of any new blends she made. Analei had thought something tasted off about her first cup that evening, but had assumed the tea just needed more time to steep than usual.

"After Leandra broke her engagement with Guillaume, it was incredibly hard to get the de Launcets to agree to another betrothal between our houses, let alone for you with their heir. As well, Adria's own engagement with Saemus Dumar is yet to be confirmed, for all they seem to like each other." That was an understatement - a blind man could see how smitten Adria and the Viscount's son were. "House Amell stands on a precipice. With Damion's scandal, it will only take one more straw before our family falls from grace. I will not allow you to destroy what our family stands for for some creature-"

"Leliana," Analei half-whispered the name, like a prayer, but it stopped Aristide in his tracks.

"What did you say, Analei?" Fausten said, finally stepping away from the fireplace.

"Her name is Leliana." Analei looked up. "We met at the Tribute Festival a few years ago, after she stopped up a bar fight with her song and I separated the fighters before the spell could wear off. She and I kept meeting in the markets, and then eventually at her home as we became friends, and then yes, lovers. Never once has she ever used her enchantment on me - she can't!"

"And why 'can't' she?" Aristide asked.

"Because it's impossible for a siren to enchant their true mate. She knew what I was from the night we met, but she never pressured me on it. Never even tried to kiss me until long after I had fallen in love with her."

"You can not love a creature," Aristide said. "It would be worse than loving a dog. They do not understand the word."

"Of course they understand it," Analei argued, rising to her feet. Her eyes flashing as she felt her magic starting to stir under her skin. "They can love and laugh and cry and hate just as much as any human. More than some humans, even." That last was a low blow, but in truth, she had many years of anger at the man finally rising to the surface. If she let it, her magic would lash out to hurt him in some way, some payback for years of having to dance to his tune. "Leliana has seen every part of me, and I have seen every part of her. We are mates in all but ceremony, and my wish was to ask for my family's blessing before going through with it."

Aristide sneered. "Did you really think I would ever give my permission - let alone my blessing - for you to marry a creature?"

"I said my family , not my relatives."

Fausten frowned and looked between her and Aristide, before turning back to the fire. A clear sign, no matter what happened, he would have no part of it. Aristide, meanwhile, looked like he'd been slapped, and it only made him angrier.

"Very well. You leave me no choice then."

Before Analei could ask about what, her arms were grabbed and something closed around her wrists. Instantly, she felt her magic drain away, and she almost fell back into her chair before she steadied herself, looking from her sides, where Rickon and Rodrick held her, and her wrists. Silver cuffs five inches long were closed around her arms, and before her eyes, the lock melted into the metal. Runes of magic suppression covered it, as well as one to prevent injury from the cuffs themselves.

"Escort Analei to her room. As of now, she is only to be allowed out for mealtimes, and a guard must stand at her door and two at her window. Inform Eddard I have a task for him and his best hunters to complete."

Analei's face paled as horror struck through her, and she lunged forward, only held back by the brothers, who started to pull her back to the door. "No, please, Uncle, you can't!"

"A creature has enchanted my grand-niece, I am in my full rights to order them exterminated to break the spell."

"Please, don't hurt her. I'll do anything." Analei dropped to her knees, and while it caught the brothers off guard, they didn't free her. "I'll marry Emile, I'll bear his children, I'll never leave Hightown again. Just please don't hurt her."

"It is too late for promises I already intend to keep, Analei." Aristide looked at her like she was something particularly nasty he stepped in. Fausten hadn't looked at her at all.

"Grandfather, please!" Analei wasn't entirely sure what she was pleading for, but aside from a slight twitch of his shoulders, he did not react to it. Tears started to fall and she turned one last time to her uncle. "Please, please Uncle, reconsider."

"No. That is my final word." Aristide sat down, picking up his quill and returning to his documents, as if none of the past quarter-hour had happened.

Rickon and Rodrick hauled her to her feet and finished pulling her from the room. Analei hung her head the whole way to her room, and when the door was locked behind her, she threw herself onto the bed, her sobs soaking the air and her pillow.

* * *

It's Dragon Age Day, so you're getting a two-fer today, the next parts of Analei and Leliana's romance. As a quick note, since magic is a widely accepted part of this verse, the mage-racism of canon is replaced with creature-racism.


	3. A Secret Wedding

For two weeks, Analei was a ghost in her own home. Aside from meals and one trip to the library to collect books (where she was deliberately kept away from the magic tomes), she was locked in her room. She tried small rebellion, keeping her curtains closed for all the day and refusing baths when her maid (not Orana, her elven confidante sent by her Hawke cousins, she had been given to Adria) prepared to draw them. She read or embroidered by the light of one candle, only to stave off the madness of boredom, and took no care of cosmetics or hygiene except to brush her hair, purely because she herself could not stand snarls. As such, when she came for meals, she was sallow and greasy, and while she did nothing to exert herself, she naturally began to smell. She said not a word at meals, even with her dear mother Revka or beloved siblings, and only ate enough that she knew she would not faint. It worked for a week, then Aristide sent Rickon and Rodrick with the maid and gave her the choice of either coming to breakfast clean or being barred from meals entirely. So she bathed, but kept to the dark.

She was allowed visitors, but for those two weeks, she only had two; Jakob and Lianne. The twins came together on the first day of her imprisonment and apologized profusely for their roles in Aristide finding out, and Analei forgave them immediately, for it was not either of their faults. Lianne brought back word that Aristide was speaking with the de Launcets to push Analei and Emile's wedding to the end of the month, with the suggestion of a long honeymoon at one of their inland estates. Jakob admitted he had ridden to the clearing and gave Leliana a warning, so by the time Eddard and his hunters got there, Leliana was no where to be found, with her belongings missing. Analei worried Aristide would know of his ride, but he assured her no one was any the wiser of his leaving, for Mattias and Johann claimed he had been drinking with them in the cellar, and he used a horse of one of his other friends who owed him quite the debt.

Analei held him close after that confession, and he passed on a handkerchief Leliana had entrusted to him. It was the first courting gift Analei had given her, embroidered with a nightingale holding a bunch of forget-me-nots. Analei managed to hold herself together long enough for her siblings to leave, then cried anew, and prayed to the Lady that Leliana would be protected.

It was late evening on the fourteenth day of her imprisonment when there was a knocking on her door, a firm thud very different from the maid's soft rap. She looked up from the book she'd been staring at for the past half-hour, and called out, "Come in."

Revka Amell walked in, all grace and beauty even nearing fifty years of age, followed by Adria, who was starting to grow into a similar bearing, and Orana, with her unobtrusive servant's walk. With Amell blue eyes, black hair and a generous figure each, some would say Revka's traits had passed over her first daughter for her second, and be mostly right. But difference created the strongest bond between mother and eldest, and when together one could see they shared the same quirk of their brow, the same smile, and the same sparkle in their eye. A sparkle Analei was surprised to see now.

"Good evening, Analei," Revka said.

"Good evening, Mother," Analei said, closing her book and setting it on the table. "What brings you here?"

"A mother can't visit her daughter?" Revka turned to the door, which was still partially open. "I'll just close this now, I wish to discuss women's things with my daughter. Her wedding is coming up, you know." She closed it before the guard could respond, and nodded to Adria, who pulled a paper seal and charcoal from within her sleeves. She placed the seal on the door, right below the keyhole, and started sketching on it with charcoal.

Revka turned to Analei and gave her a sad smile. "Oh my little bluebird." She crossed the room and knelt by Analei's chair, a hand reaching out to cup her cheek. "I am so sorry to not have visited you in this time. There was just so much to prepare."

"Prepare?" Analei took her mother's hand in her own. "Prepare for what?"

"Your wedding, of course." Revka waved with her other hand and Orana came over with a bundle in her arms, holding it as Revka started to unfold it. "We needed to make alterations to ensure a proper fit, after all. Luckily, Orana had your most recent measurements and she, Lianne and Adria together make for quick work."

Analei was about to ask again what her mother was talking about, when she saw the gown that had been wrapped up and gasped. It was Leandra's wedding dress, or rather, the one she would have worn had her engagement gone through. But her sisters and maid had transformed it. The lace overdress had been dyed a soft blue, and the gold silk trim on the high collar, shoulders and hem was replaced with silver. The underdress remained snow white, but the cuffs and hem were embroidered with blue forget-me-nots, and on above them on the sleeves were purple and blue songbirds - bluebirds and nightingales.

Analei hesitantly reached out, worried this was a dream, but she felt the fabric under her fingers, and it was just imperfect enough to make her realize it was real. "But-but how?"

"Oh, Uncle is so distracted with the negotiations with the du Launcets he was all too eager to leave the women's work to the women, and Aunt Bethann has been so poorly lately, it's a relief for me to take it off her hands." Revka smiled. "Now soon, Lianne will be by with one of her teas, and it's Jameson on guard tonight - you know he has such a sweet spot for her. I'd almost allow him to make a courting request if I didn't know that Uncle would never allow it. The tea will have siren's tear lavender in it, so he'll be drowsy and susceptible to suggestion. Lianne will tell him we all spoke for a while, then left when you prepared for bed. Coupled with the conversation seal Adria's placed by the door, he'll honestly believe I'm speaking to you about a woman's duties to a husband."

"And don't you worry about where your bride will be," Adria said, standing and dusting off her skirt. "Jakob told her of one of the old mine tunnels that goes from the coast right up near Hightown, and he hired some friends to escort her. When we went to services on Sunday, Mother Dorathea told us she had made it safely to the chantry. Both of them are waiting for us."

Analei looked at her wrists and raised them up. "But, the cuffs. I can't even leave my room without someone being alerted."

Orana reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver key, passing it to Revka who pressed it to the cuffs, making the seam and lock reappear. "Lord Adam would make a killing as a pickpocket in Lowtown, should your marriage truly bring ruin to the family."

Analei's eyes welled with tears as the full implications of it all hit her. "If- if we do this, Leliana and I will have to leave Kirkwall. I- I can't come back. Not until Aristide dies, and maybe even Grandfather."

"We know," Orana said, smiling even as her own tears started. "But we'd all rather you be happy far from here than waste away as a du Launcet."

Revka reached out to cup Analei's face again. "You know there is no love lost between your father and I, and I'm fairly certain my mother caught the cough just to leave your grandfather. Your aunt Leandra was the perfect Amell, and then she left with her heart in the talons of a Hawke. If I had to pick one of those fates for you, I would rather have you be Leandra than me."

Analei choked on a sob and threw herself into her mother's arms, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you. Thank you."

Revka hugged her tight, then drew back. "Now, we best hurry and get you ready. We only have a small window to get out of here."

With her mother, sister and maid helping, Analei was soon scrubbed clean, dressed in the beautiful gown, and had her hair pulled back into a fancier version of her usual bun. It was held in place with her favorite hairclip, which had an addition of two feathers attached to it, one blue and one brown with a lavender tip. Adria did her makeup, continuing the color theme, then Revka took off her necklace and hung it around Analei's neck. Analei almost teared up again seeing it, staving them off when Adria told her to not ruin her hard work. She had crafted it for Revka when she was twelve, testing her transmutation spells. A pendant of an Amell blue sapphire with a center of the soft pale green of her own eyes, on a silver chain. She placed a hand on it, and Revka placed her hand over hers.

"A piece of your family, to remember where you came from," Revka recited, and reached back to touch the brown feather. "A piece of your spouse, to remember who your life belongs to." She touched the clip itself. "And a piece of yourself, to remember who you are."

"But where's the piece from my friends?" Analei asked. She truly did not have many, most of Kirkwall's society did not find joy in spending hours studying a topic until exhaustion, and often a tangent she brought up at a party could bring conversation to a halt until someone changed the subject.

Orana reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a small box. "These were my parents'. My father managed to pass them to me before he was killed. I have no interest in marriage, and I have my locket to carry their memory. They'll have a much better use with you."

Analei took the box and opened it to show a simple pair of rings, silver with engravings of elven marriage blessings. "Orana…" Analei stood and wrapped the elf in a tight hug. "You've always been my closest friend."

"And you mine." Orana held the hug for a moment, then stepped back. "I'll carry them for now, then give them back when it's time."

Analei nodded and looked in the mirror when Adria drew her over. Analei almost didn't recognize herself. She never lacked confidence in her appearance, and was told she was pretty often enough. But looking in the mirror, for once she truly felt beautiful.

Revka smiled over her shoulder, as if she was reading her thoughts. "It's love; it makes even the plainest of us beautiful." She pressed a kiss to Analei's cheek, then took her traveling cloak from Orana and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Now we best hurry, before Uncle leaves his study for the evening.

They had Analei stand by the bed as they went to the door and called out good nights to each other as Adria pulled the seal from the door and opened it. Analei then rushed over on quiet feet, hood drawn over her head, and walked out between her mother and sister, who she only now realized wore gowns of the same navy as her cloak, and the bag they had packed clothes and some valuables into was dark as well. As promised, Jameson's eyes were droopy and he paid near no mind to them as Revka told him Analei was preparing for bed and did not wish to be disturbed for any reason. They rushed silently down the hall to the servant's stair, and out a side entrance to the gardens. A little used gate was in the back corner, near where the stables were. By this gate, Analei found her other siblings waiting.

"We can't all go to the wedding," Lianne said. "But we couldn't let you leave without seeing you off."

Analei smiled and gave her sister a hug. "Thank you, Lia. Keep making your teas. They're already being incredibly useful." She went to Adam and squeezed him tight, even as he initially stiffened before hugging her back. "Don't drive Mother to drink now, and keep practicing your frost spells."

"Too late for the former," he teased, stepping back. "But just wait, I'll be a master of them when you get back, you'll see."

Analei smiled and nodded, hoping she would see that. Then she turned to Jakob, who had his head bowed. "Hey, none of that now," Analei said, tilting his chin up so he'd look her in the eye, a bit ridiculous since he was a good three inches taller than her. "I do not blame you for any part of this matter."

"But I was the one to reveal it all to Uncle." His eyes welled with tears and his lip trembled.

"And it could just as easily been anyone. He was already getting suspicious, he would have sent Eddard after me one of these days, and we'd still be here." Analei wiped away the first tear to fall. "You saved Leliana from the hunters, and gave us a chance of a life together. I can never thank you enough for that. So no more tears now, okay?"

Jakob smiled and wiped his eyes, then pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "I won't let Uncle keep you away long. I'll make him let you back, by whatever means necessary."

"I know you will," Analei said. When he loosened his hold, she rose up on her toes to press a kiss to his forehead. "Take care of everyone, okay."

He nodded. "I will."

He let her go and stepped back, and the wedding party slipped out through the gate, freshly oiled two days in a row to eliminate any squeaks on the hinges.

It took a fifteen minute walk through the near deserted streets to reach the chantry, and when they entered it was nearly entirely dark, except for the torches by the doors and three lit candelabras around the alter. Mother Dorathea stood at the alter, speaking with about the last person Analei expected to see.

"Mikoto?" It was barely more than a whisper, but it carried across the empty chapel and her cousin turned, her pink dress twirling around her ankles.

"Surprised?" she asked with a smile, her brown Hawke eyes holding the Amell sparkle, and Analei hurried down the aisle to hug her.

"What are you doing here?" She now noticed the people sitting in the first pew, recognizing them as Mikoto's elven lover Fenris, holding a lute of all things, and her friends, the city guards Aveline and Donnic, and Varric Tethras, who was also the author of Analei's favorite romance series.

"We were having drinks at the Hanged Man when Jakob came looking for someone to play bodyguard. When he explained what - or rather who - it was for, we offered to do it for the small price of a silver each, and an invitation to the wedding. Jackson and Isabela are with your bride to be. They and I will be her bridal party, and Adria and Orana will be yours." She smiled wider and picked a bouquet off the altar. "Fenris is musical accompaniment."

"Under protest, I might add," Fenris said, but his smile belayed his gruff tone.

It took all her willpower to not tear up again. Analei had never felt so loved by her family in her life.

"Since we are all here, shall we get started?" Dorathea asked. "I understand we are on a bit of a schedule tonight."

Analei nodded, and accepted the bouquet of flowers Mikoto handed her, white roses with a single red one, surrounded by forget-me-nots and lavender. Her party gathered on the right side of the hall, and when Fenris's lute started plucking out a wedding march, they started walking out, first Orana, then Adria, and finally Analei on Revka's arm.

Analei had purposefully kept her eyes down during the bridesmaid marches, so when she looked up to see Leliana, she couldn't help a gasp. Her love was wearing a gown of her native Orlais, with a wide collar and short off-the-shoulder sleeves of silver trimmed white silk that covered her bust. The trim continued down the bodice, with a large broach securing a belt of the same under the bust, and the bodice itself was a soft lavender that flowed into an overskirt embroidered with bronze to look like feathers, to match the wings on her back, which were glossy and bright. The underskirt was plain white, except for a band on the hem of embroidered lavender and forget-me-nots. In her hand was a matching bouquet to Analei's own.

When they met at the altar, Revka pressed a light kiss to Analei's cheek before joining her and Leliana's hands together. Analei squeezed it as she stared at Leliana for a moment.

"You're here."

Leliana smiled and nodded. "And you're here."

"And since everyone needed is here, let us begin," Dorathea said, and everyone laughed before she started the ceremony. "In the name of the Maker who brought us this world…"

Afterwards, Analei did not remember much of the ceremony itself. All her thoughts were on the feel of Leliana's hand in her own, and the fact that they were there, in that moment, being married.

"May I have the rings?" Dorathea asked, and Orana stepped forward, passing over the rings and taking the bouquets. "Analei, take a ring and repeat after me. With this ring…"

Analei did so, holding it above Leliana's hand. "With this ring…"

"I give you my heart…"

"I give you my heart…"

"From this day forward…"

"From this day forward…"

"You will never walk alone…"

"You will never walk alone…"

"My arms will be your home."

"My arms will be your home." Analei slide the ring on Leliana's finger, and both gave a gasp as the engravings lit up with a small flash of light.

"Now Leliana, take your ring and repeat after me. With this ring…"

Leliana repeated the vows, and the same light flashed as it set in place on Analei's finger. As if on cue, the tears both had been holding back started to fall even as they grinned.

"By the power vested in me by the Maker, Our Lady, and the Chantry, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss the bride."

Analei and Leliana needed to further encouragement, reaching for each other and meeting their lips in such a sweet kiss, Analei didn't know how she didn't die right in that moment. It went on for long enough they could hear a laugh from one of the bridal party.

"Well now, do you think they'd notice if we just left? Or should we stay so they don't defile the altar?"

They broke apart then, and Analei saw it was Isabela, for once wearing a skirt that that went past the tops of her boots and didn't show her hips. "I like to believe I was raised a little better than that, Isabela."

The pirate captain just smiled. "You might, but I'd bet your siren wasn't." She jerked her thumb to the door. "Come on, your cousin hired a cart from a dwarf and his son to get us to the harbor, but it won't be waiting forever."

Analei nodded and turned to her mother, who's own face was wet with tears. They wrapped each other in a hug, and when they parted, Revka pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Stay safe now, my little bluebird. I'll be expecting letters."

Analei nodded. "I will write every week, and send them when I can." She hugged Adria and kissed her sister's cheek. "I'm sorry I won't be here for your wedding."

Adria smiled and shook her head, her own tears finally falling. "Saemus won't mind a long engagement. And who knows, maybe Uncle will have a stroke in a week and you'll be able to come right back."

Analei gave a small laugh. "One can dream." She at last turned to Orana. They needed no words, having said all they needed to, and just hugged each other. "I'll write you as well."

"Don't be getting a new best friend now," Orana teased.

"But don't you know?" Leliana asked, having finished wishing goodbye to Dorathea and wrapping her arm around Analei's waist. "You're supposed to marry your best friend."

They all laughed, and Orana passed them back their bouquets before the party headed to the doors. The cart was a simple goods cart, but the dwarves who owned it had added ribbon to the side in an attempt to cheer it up. "Your carriage awaits, m'ladies." The father dwarf bowed from the driver's seat.

Those bound for the harbor climbed inside, while those who would stay waited on the steps. Analei and Leliana gave one last wave, then turned and tossed the bouquets behind them, not looking back to see Adria and Aveline had caught them. They were facing forward, to their new life together.

* * *

And here we go, Analei and Leliana are married and on their way to the next adventure. The next storyline to go up will be Elita Tabris, so keep an eye out.

If anyone is curious, the Hawkes are all half- or quarter-harpies, as Malcolm was either a whole or half-harpy. It's just no mentioned cause I wanted to focus on the wedding.


End file.
